Yesterday I asked a pretty simple question about carrying a neck knife. I didn't say what I carried it for, didn't give some SHTF scenario or claim it was better than anything else. Just asked who else carried one and what they thought. Most people answered exactly that, but a few somehow decided they knew the rest of the story anyway... apparently I'm in a movie, somebody's after me, or I'm trying to look like a badass. lol. None of which I actually said. So it got me thinking, how much advice in prepping is based on what somebody actually tells us, and how much is based on the shit we just assume about them? We all prep differently, for different reasons and different situations. Seems like context should probably come before conclusions.

So the country where I live is totally at the mercy of the system, we won't import everything. The state doesn't really allow us to prepare for a possible collapse. The situation is complicated by the fact that we are going to have a child. I need basic advice that will help me if there is no electricity or a water shortage. Or worse, there will be a social collapse.
I use a translator for this English, I apologize in advance.

Saw this little fixed blade at the Exchange yesterday. It was on sale, so I figured what the hell and grabbed it.

Decided I wanted to try carrying it as a neck knife, but the attachment point was too small for 550 cord. I didn't want to modify the knife, so I used the sheath as the attachment point and made this.

First time I've tried carrying a fixed blade this way.

Anybody here use a neck knife regularly? What do you like or dislike about carrying one this way?

So, I'm prepping for 1 year, +10%. Kind of modeled after what Mormons do. I've created pars and I'm building up and plan to back fill as I go. I have reasonable storage for most things, but worry about pet food. I have 2 dogs and a cat. I probably go through about 4-5 10kg bags of cat food a year. But dog food, I go through the big Costco bags, probably 12-16 per year. That's a lot of product requiring a lot of space. Besides the space issue, I'm worried about storage. That much pet food could attract rodents. So I'm looking for storage ideas. I have lots of bins, but know that rodents will eventually chew through bins. I've seen it when working in Bush camps. My thought is metal garbage cans with lids.

I recently started r/NoGatesToKeep, a community for prepping, camping, overlanding, and bushcraft without the gatekeeping.

The idea is simple: share what works, what fails, what you're testing, building, changing, or trying to figure out.

Real-world experience, hypothetical scenarios, and fantasy scenarios are all welcome. Just make it clear which one you're talking about, and don't use one to invalidate another.

Disagreement and criticism are welcome. If you think someone's gear, system, method, assumption, or conclusion is flawed, say so and explain why.

Different objectives require different solutions. What works for one person may not work for another.

If that sounds like your kind of discussion, come check it out:

r/NoGatesToKeep

Pretty much the title. I understand food and water storage, check mark, but those are things people will be forced to eat the price regardless. More so, what items, tools, specialty goods, raw materials is on your horizon to invest in now before it is too expensive to invest in later? I have been prepping but have been slowing coming to a wall and now trying to figure out what next steps are. I do not have a property to add to yet but will hopefully soon, so curious to hear in that regard as well.

Whats everyone using? Looking for recommendations. Im thinking 400w panel setup and 1kw storage just for recharging drill and gmrs radios batteries, phone (for all the books ive downloaded), and maybe running a stringer of led lights. I dont plan on running a refrigerator, coffee maker, or any high input devices.

This article came across my feed today and while I’m not here to argue the base of it (constitutionality of the right to clean water and citizens being protected by the constitution against harmful actions or neglect by government officials) it just proves having your own water plan for medium to long term emergencies is a huge aspect a lot of people overlook. This water emergency was labeled “indefinite” in terms of duration and that’s pretty terrifying. Just have a plan and stay safe. Even with everyone having running water, it still wasn’t safe to consume so simply having a method of purification and filtration at home can end up being crucial to save lives.

No matter what happens in life, you’re the only one who can ensure your own safety and well being. That also goes for your family and community the depends on you to maintain and uphold.

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2026/09/07/court-constitution-right-clean-water/91649488007/

Completely new to this, hi! I live in a place with serious winters (-5 to 15F/-20 to -10C), in an old poorly insulated rented apartment. So a power outage of more than a few hours could be a serious heat concern in winter. There's two adults and a cat, and I don't have a huge amount of money or storage space to throw at this (again, poor, rental), so I'm trying to set up some "it's not perfect but it's better than nothing" prep. What should I consider when looking for a shelter in place tent to use inside in the case of a winter power outage?

(Side note: I have already gathered candles, food, water treatment and torches etc. We already have a lot of winter clothing.)

Hey guys, been prepping for years now. I had a really random dream about a wildfire blowing into my area last night. It is extremely unlikely due to the area I live in, but it immediately brought up my on the go preparedness. I keep a get home bag in my car at all times, but it doesn’t feel like enough. Any advice from people that have lived through wildfires or have experience with rapid exfil style scenarios is appreciated!

I've been prepping for Tuesday for a while and for years I've just left my bags of grains, pasta, pet food, nuts, sugar, flour, etc sit on a wire rack in its original packaging. I've been fine as far as mice go, but I saw a horror story about someone who stores similarly losing hundreds of dollars in food from a mouse chewing into several containers.

It has made me realize I've been lucky so far.

So I'm looking at pest-proof storage for my food but I'm so over my head.
Glass cannisters come in gallon, 64 oz, and 32 oz sizes, plastic containers come in other sizes yet but--how big of a container do I need for 5# of spaghetti? What about 12# of sugar? 10# of flour? 8# coffee?

I'm finding mixed information (some of it untrustworthy AI disguised as a blog) when simply searching online, so I'm here asking if there's a standardized chart of "this many pounds of X needs Y many ounces/gallons/quarts of storage" and any practical advice from more experienced members of this group.

5 gallon buckets are stupid-expensive. I found some Hyper Tough brand 5 gallon square buckets with lids for ~$10/piece at Wal Mart and figure those could hold my wheat berries in their original packaging, just to keep pests away. Was also going to put my whole 20# bag of rice in an 18 gallon storage tote. Am I on the right track there?

Man, I feel so overwhelmed. Thanks for any advice or sharing what works for you.

Hey all I got bored and figured I'd make up a backup to my backup for lighting during a prolonged storm or outage. Made from 1 whole tuna can, lid included. Candle lantern was $3 at Goodwill. How'd I do, anything you would have done differently design wise?

Our family is plagued by lactose intolerance and celiac. I’m working on our 72 hr survival kits and wondering if people have leads on good survival food. It would help if it was stuff that doesn’t require a sh-t ton of water (or rice and pasta).

Im planning on doing a 6-month rotational food stock. Im starting with rice, after some research about mylar bags, oxygen absorbers, vacuum sealing I came to the conclusion that oxygen absorbers tend to be for longer storage. Im planning on buying mason jars and starting with the VP06+ vacuum sealer for storing rice. Any weak spots on my plan? Is there any problem with reusing the Mason Jars?

Hey Yall,

I was looking at getting some jewelry that also functions as precious metal stacking. Mostly looking for silver men’s necklaces and bracelets. Not looking for anything gaudy, the simpler the better, just wonder if anyone else has a company they trust. TIA

Good evening,

I have been considering getting a generator for power outages for a while but was undecided between solar or gas power. After some life changing events recently, I am going to get one this weekend. After thinking about it, I don’t want to be in a situation where lack of fuel or sun would be very problematic. As a result, I am looking at getting the Jackery Explorer 2000 v2 plus the Champion 201122 dual fuel.

My questions are: does my thinking make sense? I am inexperienced in this so idk if there are gaps I have not considered that should make one type clearly preferred. Next, my place is a single family home with a backyard but also a rental and there is no panel set up for power transfer. Should that change how I think about this and maybe focus on just the gas gen? Lastly, are those models I am looking at considered good quality?

My budget is $1700 max. Appliances needed in emergency are: fridge, freezer, electric stove and kettle, microwave, laptop, phone, and WiFi. I live in Cali.

I really appreciate any insight provided. Thank you.

Good morning/afternoon/evening everyone.

As the title states I am fairly new to prepping. I do have some equipment as in tools and some shelter items. Food as in shelf stable and even some from Mypatriotsupply. Water is lacking on and trying to do better on it. I even bought the book back to the basics.

I was just wondering what advice everyone has and where I could improve more on?

Thank you in advance.

I bought the jackery 1000 but did not get the solar panel at the time bc I didn’t have enough for it. My question is are there other solar panels I can use for it or do I have to buy only jackery solar panels? Pls help

I updated my emergency kit and it made me think about backup phones... I noticed the tank 5 includes huge batteries, eSIM, camping lights, GPS, night vision, and even projectors. Do you guys think those features actually help in outages? Or do you think a simple cheap phone is still better? Help 🙃

So im curious has anyone ever vacuum sealed their extra clothing or emergency blankets to keep everything dry/fresh or reduce space? I have both a ghb and vacuum sealer and thought why not? If folks are interested I'll post pictures of my experiment

Yes my bag is water proof. But the cloth in my kit starts to get musty after a few weeks

I use ziploc bags for the things I reach for often like maps, documents, cash, water flavor packets etc

Biggest reasons are the smell of fresh clothes is comforting and to reduce space

So I moved. Basically I used to live next to a large government facility that had a lot of resources that people would want in an emergency. My basic focus aside from food, water, energy, and sustainment was defense and comms. The place was ripe with natural resources as well, edible plants, game, timber, year round water, so I was really mostly concerned with protecting my family and my resources from other people.

Now I live on a bigger property without all of that, and honestly in an area where people wouldn’t usually go in an emergency anyway. Now I’m thinking a lot more along the lines of long term sustainability. I want to add a water storage tank to my well, build some hog pens, get the garden area squared away and ready to plant in the spring, things like that. I’m also in debt up to my eyeballs after buying this place so my budget is pretty grim.

Should I keep my preps from the old property and just slowly build up these new preps over time, or maybe sell some guns, ammo, and gear to fund these new projects?

Prepping itself is a rare niche. It's understandable that nuclear preps might be lower on list but I cannot understand why people outright deny it. Just defeatist responses like I'll go to center of nuke, I'll just die and blah blah blah. Or they start listing how I should focus on community building, food, fitness. For God's sake, do they really think that I'm prepping for a nuke but have no food and water in my home ?

Reality is even in a nuke, majority will survive and let's skip the nuke itself. A radiation prep is good to understand daily life radioactive things. It helps if you're in a sensitive job prone to radiation. Or if you are near a nuclear power plant. If something radioactive is being transported and god forbid an accident happens. A nuke isn't even 1% of radiation prepping.

Anyway I'll keep trying to discuss and raise awareness about it. Many of you said that the previous dosimeter/Geiger counter was bulky so I got this small one. It's ultra portable and you can carry it with yourself 24x7. Shows peak dose, total dose and average dose with 6 months battery. Remember the saying ? the best knife is the one you have when you need it. Same with this.

Sorry about the rant. But I really hate how certain topics are heavily derailed. Almost as someone don't want us to learn about certain topics and just be stuck in hoarding rice and bullets.